New York City Leaders Attempt To Have It Both Ways on Crime

At the same time as New York City leaders are taking credit for May’s reduction in shootings, they are pinning the overall rise in crime on failures in the state capital, reigniting a debate over bail laws and the responsibility for fixing the situation.Mayor Adams is arguing that Albany bears most of the blame.“Sometimes I just feel that with some lawmakers that they are just not dealing with the reality. Idealism can’t displace realism,” he said. “Where is the reality here?”The city’s police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, has voiced a similar opinion, putting the onus on state lawmakers to change the laws.“The criminal justice system must be calibrated to ensure violent felons and recidivist offenders do not escape meaningful consequences by taking advantage of reforms aimed at providing a second chance to first time low level offenders,” she said at a recent city council hearing.The administration has, however, taken credit for some of the reductions in crime the city has seen, particularly in shootings and homicides.“We are seeing results in reducing violent crime, gun crime,” Deputy Commissioner John Miller said on WABC Sunday. He said the NYPD is “firing on all cylinders” as they round off “seven weeks of steady declines in shootings.”Year to date, shootings and murders are down about 10 percent and 9 percent respectively, according to NYPD statistics, even while all other crimes numbers are rising.The leading drivers of the increases include transit crime, larceny, and burglary. Mr. Adams, Ms. Sewell, and Mr. Miller have pointed to New York’s cashless bail policy and lack of a dangerousness standard when judges set bail as being responsible for the rise.“These are crimes that are largely not bail-eligible now,” Mr. Adams said. “We’re the only state in America where a judge can’t cite dangerousness as a reason to keep people in.”Cashless bail refers to the policy passed in 2020 that allows most people charged with nonviolent offenses to be freed without paying bail money. A dangerousness standard would allow judges to consider a defendant’s perceived threat level when making decisions on pretrial detention.A Manhattan Institute fellow, Rafael Mangual, argues that the mayor is largely right to put responsibility on Albany, saying the mayor should “increase pressure on Albany and give the public the tools that they need to understand crime.”“We have to understand, what can he really do?” he said, referring to the mayor. “He has zero power to impact state reforms.”Mr. Mangual argues that in spite of the city’s efforts, “external factors” are “muting” crime-fighting efforts led by the mayor and his administration.The president of the Citizens Crime Commission, Richard Aborn, has a different idea regarding accountability, arguing that the reduction in shootings and murders demonstrates the city’s ability to fight crime.“We are now six months into the mayor’s administration: The city has the ability and is executing on the ability to control the state of the city,” Mr Aborn told the Sun. “The NYPD is once again showing that they can get ahead of these trends with the right strategies.”Mr. Aborn argues that the city has demonstrated its competence in fighting crime and should be held accountable, even if there are state-level changes that could make their task easier.“We need more declines, but it’s an excellent start,” Mr. Aborn said. “What’s complicated is that we live in a fast-results world and crime will not come down quickly.”A former prosecutor in the Queens district attorney’s office, Jim Quinn, is also optimistic when it comes to improving public safety in both the state and the city, but for a different reason.He argues that state-level reforms are needed and, unlike many, contends that there is political will in Albany to change the laws, noting “they’ve already done it twice.”Mr. Quinn argues “that the mayor should have people do an in-depth analysis of the defendants arrested for these crimes” that are surging.Although Mr. Quinn says he thinks that the state’s bail laws are at least partially responsible, he says a wide and deep analysis of repeat offenders in New York City could prove whether the state’s new laws are allowing recidivists to commit more crimes.He for one, says he agrees with the administration that state laws are hindering crime-fighting efforts.“He’s been there for six months, this is something that’s been coming for years and it’s been built up,” Mr. Quinn said. “The changes in the criminal justice system have been so destructive in New York State and especially in New York City.”Although Messrs. Mangual, Aborn, and Quinn disagree on the extent to which the mayor should be held accountable, it is worth noting that they have all advocated for some amount of targeted legislation aimed at reducing recidivism.

New York City Leaders Attempt To Have It Both Ways on Crime

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